ORC IN MY BLOOD

[Intro – Bard (spoken/sung)] Gather close, you rowdy hearts—hear my cage-door hymn, I watched three “orcs” walk into hell… and I laughed to keep from grim. [Verse 1 – Bard] We left the town on stolen night, no torches, no parade, Coordinates in a trembling hand, in moon-and-mud we wade. A scarred monk—bald as winter stone, beard like midnight steel, Two red stars (ioun fire) spinning slow around his zeal. A paladin too young for war, a ranger cold and clean— And one old wizard’s warning: “Act orc… and stay orc in-between.” [Pre-Chorus – Bard + Whispered Choir] Speak like them, breathe like them, grin like teeth on bone, One joke too far, one savage cheer— And you won’t find your way back home. [Chorus – All] ORC IN MY BLOOD, DRUM IN MY CHEST, LAUGH WITH THE PACK OR LOSE THE REST. WALK LIKE A MONSTER, MASK ON TIGHT— BUT TELL ME, HERO… WHO ARE YOU TONIGHT? ORC IN MY BLOOD, FIRE IN MY EYES, IF I WIN THEIR RESPECT—WHAT PART OF ME DIES? [Verse 2 – Monk Tobi (gritty)] Polymorph hit—bones went broad, my hands became a threat, Belt-tight strength like giant rage I never should’ve met. We slipped past roads, through grassland teeth, through forest breathing rot, Found the warband—bonfire crown—where mercy’s quickly shot. Then I saw her—half-orc girl—tied up, bruised, barely proud, And my fists remembered kindness… in an orc skin far too loud. [Verse 2 – Bard (quick, amused)] They said, “Buy her with your gold, big orc,”—ha! what a play, But Tobi thought, “That’s not orc enough… I’ll take the orc way.” [Pre-Chorus – Bard] So he pointed at the “seller,” grinning like sin made flesh— Not knowing that smiling butcher… wore the warband’s crest. [Chorus – All] ORC IN MY BLOOD, DRUM IN MY CHEST, LAUGH WITH THE PACK OR LOSE THE REST. WALK LIKE A MONSTER, MASK ON TIGHT— BUT TELL ME, HERO… WHO ARE YOU TONIGHT? ORC IN MY BLOOD, FIRE IN MY EYES, IF I WIN THEIR RESPECT—WHAT PART OF ME DIES? [Verse 3 – Monk Tobi] He swung that axe like falling doors, I took it chin-to-rib, Elbow, heel, a skull-to-skull—my body’s holy fib. Six strikes singing in my bones, iron fist, ki-lit pain, He laughed—then coughed—then kissed the dirt and didn’t rise again. The camp went quiet… then it roared—respect like wolves in heat, And every cheer felt like a chain wrapped tighter ‘round my feet. [Bridge – Bard (storytelling) + Paladin (female) + Ranger] Bard: Next day, the half-orc spoke of raids, of towns to be enslaved, A monster-city waiting there where prisoners never saved. Paladin: We cracked the locks, we cut the fear, we ran on borrowed time— My oath stayed bright in filthy streets, my blade became a rhyme. Ranger: The shaman watched. The leader seethed. The whispers wanted more— A crown, a rank, a warband life… I kept us near the door. Bard (laughing): And me? I yelled, “I WAS THERE!”—then ducked another roar. [Verse 4 – Monk Tobi] Then thunder came on leather wings—another warband, drake, Their rider sniffed the lie in us, my stomach turned to ache. We fled to broken battlements, a ruin hungry, old, Chased by boots and brutal songs and eyes like molten gold. The drake flew low—I saw the thread—my soul stepped out of place: Abundant Step—I wasn’t there… then I was on its face. [Final Chorus – All (bigger, faster)] ORC IN MY BLOOD, DRUM IN MY CHEST, I TORE THE SKY TO SAVE THE REST. THREW DOWN THE RIDER, PAID THE PRICE— CRATER IN STONE, TWO HEARTBEATS ICE. ORC IN MY BLOOD, BUT TRUTH IN MY HANDS, WE WALKED OUT WITH THE FREED AND BROKE THEIR PLANS. ORC IN MY BLOOD—HEAR MY REPORT: YOUR TOWNS ARE TARGETED… SO READY THE FORT! [Outro – Bard (spoken)] And if you ask what Tobi learned in that bonfire choir? Sometimes the hero wins the day… and limps home from the fire.